Secretary of Education Arne Duncan brought a firestorm of criticism on himself over the weekend, after remarking on Friday that “white suburban moms” oppose the Common Core standard in schools because they discovered “their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were” — and now he’s apologizing.
Duncan’s remarks came at an event for state superintendents of education. The Secretary was apparently attempting to convey that many people don’t anticipate the high achievement requirements in the Common Core standards, and are therefore startled when students underperform their expectations.
“It’s fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were, and that’s pretty scary,” Duncan said, according to The Washington Post. “You’ve bet your house and where you live and everything on, ‘My child’s going to be prepared.’ That can be a punch in the gut.”
He added that students were now competing on an international academic playing field, instead of just nationally.
Duncan apologized on Monday for his comments.
“My wording, my phrasing, was a little clumsy and I apologize for that,” he told CNN.
He reiterated that his point was to convey the higher standards of achievement that are need to compete in a “globally competitive work force.”
Duncan’s remarks received scattered press coverage, and the media focused on his dramatic-sounding — and definitely offensive — quote while leaving out the necessary context: agree or disagree with Common Core, American kids could seem ‘less brilliant’ when compared internationally. Comparison of test scores internationally is incredibly complex and there are many factors to consider, but at face value — what parents are likely to see of the data — Duncan’s statement has a ring of truth. Plus, the second half of his quote clearly reveals his concern for parents who are worried about their child’s success.
But that didn’t stop social media users from lashing out against the Secretary over the weekend. Someone even launched a White House petition calling for Duncan’s removal from his post.
Duncan told POLITICO later that he “didn’t say it perfectly,” but he reasserted his support for Common Core being the correct means by which students should be assessed.
On Monday, Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) condemned Duncan’s remarks and called for President Barack Obama to fire him.
“The Obama administration is now using ‘suburban mom’ as a dismissive slur and even attacking the children of political opponents,” Stockman said in a release. “It’s typical of the Obama administration’s disrespectful treatment of women who express differing opinions. He even called moms and dads with families ‘fringe groups.’”
“Obama should fire Duncan for saying some opponents of Common Core should be dismissed because of their race and gender,” he added.
Even after Duncan’s apology on Monday, Stockman didn’t seem satisfied. On Tuesday, the Congressman again called for the Secretary of Education to be fired, calling his words a “non apology.”
“Duncan did not deny the Obama administration thinks less of Common Core critics who are white or women,” he wrote in a press release. “He did not deny the Obama administration thinks your children are dumb. He just said his wording was ‘clumsy.’ Obama has no choice but to fire Duncan and apologize for his racist, sexist attack on women and children.”
It’s unlikely that Obama will consider firing Duncan, but the Secretary of Education certainly got himself into hot water with his ill-conceived remarks. Instead of people debating the merits of Common Core, they’re not debating Duncan’s seemingly race-based comments.
This post has been updated to include additional information.
